Rybakina to face Putintseva in the Tokyo second round

On 27 October Yulia Putintseva, who reached the Toray Pan Pacific Open main draw through qualifying, beat Maria Sakkari in the first round 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. She now meets Elena Rybakina: the tournament's top seed had a first-round bye. According to Tennis Explorer, the second-round match is scheduled for 29 October; it is not on the WTA order of play published for 28 October, and the exact time will be known once the WTA releases the next day's schedule. Tokyo is four hours ahead of Astana. The head-to-head between the two Kazakhstan players stands at 2-2: Putintseva won their first two matches, in 2020 and 2021, and Rybakina the last two, in Madrid in 2024 and Miami in 2026. The win over Sakkari is already Putintseva's third at the event, after two qualifying victories. Tokyo is Rybakina's last tournament before the WTA Finals, where she is the defending champion.